Chapter 259 War without smoke
Crunch——
Elmon opened the door and what he saw made him freeze in place.
In the room, the fireplace burned brightly, dispelling the slight chill of early spring.
Rhaegar sat on a pony, roasting two sizzling sausages by the fire of the fireplace.
On the soft floor, old Tully, who was originally unconscious, sat up at some point and gnawed a pear covered with teeth marks in his energetic hands.
Earl Lemon and Old Tully, who had been missing since last night, sat next to each other, looking at each other with disdain.
Both sides exchanged words with each other.
"Grandpa, are you awake?"
Elmon spoke with a vibrato, and was at a loss for what was going on in the room.
Rega flipped the sausages on the iron skewers and said calmly: "That statement is not accurate. Your grandfather didn't sleep a wink last night."
He didn't even get a good night's sleep, and he was still hungry early in the morning.
Elmon's eyes flickered, thoughts swirling in his mind.
"Come here, Elmon."
Old Tully saw his grandson's guilty conscience and waved towards him.
His voice was a little low and hoarse, with a hint of weakness, proving that he was still suffering from some physical illness.
Elmon did not dare to refuse, knowing that he would not be able to avoid the disaster, so he gritted his teeth and walked to the cave.
"You did a pretty good job." Old Tully threw away the pear core and praised softly.
Elmon raised his head sharply, his eyes shining brightly.
Old Tully grinned: "I started very quickly. I killed both of your uncles in one go. I have a little bit of the style of your grandfather and me back then."
"Grandpa, are you pretending to be sick on purpose?" Almon asked, feeling uneasy.
Old Tully waved his hand and said, "I really had a severe headache the past two days. I'll be fine with just a few injections of blood."
Almon quietly pointed at Earl Lemmon and whispered: "Then you also invited the Earl?"
In my memory, this arrogant Earl has always looked down upon his third uncle.
Since Count Lemon is staying with his grandfather, it can be seen that there must be a connection between the two.
"Before the war comes, you bunch of Tullys are not worthy of inviting me."
Earl Lemmon spoke with disdain, put away the heavy sword that he had wiped, and said in a deep voice: "The iron brood of the Iron Islands plundered the coastal fishing villages. I came to Riverrun to request supplies for remediation."
He has two sons and several daughters.
How could he come to Riverrun as a thug for the sake of a stupid son-in-law who regards honor as his life?
It was just old Tully who repeatedly begged to protect the heir and not to fight openly.
He just managed to fight a few duels to stretch his muscles.
Elmon looked at Old Tully questioningly.
At this moment, he believed in his grandfather.
Old Tully nodded helplessly, feeling gloomy about the future of his family.
Two sons and one grandson, their palms and backs are full of flesh.
He could only pretend to be comatose through illness and adopt a laissez-faire approach to select an heir.
Facts have proved that they are not very qualified.
Although Elmon imprisoned the two uncles, he only made up his mind under Rhaegar's urging and reminder.
The methods were not harsh enough. They only detained people but did not eradicate the root causes.
It really disappointed old Tully, who had high hopes.
Crackling...
The sausages burst with oil, and the flames crackled.
Rega was not afraid of the heat, so he took a bite of a grilled sausage. The taste was full of meaty flavor, mixed with rich spices.
Chewing the delicious food, he took out a piece of letter paper from his arms. The ink pad was a roaring lion.
Ignoring the conversation between Tully and Grandson, Rhaegar looked at the contents of the letter.
The letter came from Stormland and was sent back by Tyran Lannister, who supervised the construction of the prince's palace.
The letter first stated that the construction progress of the prince's palace was about one-third complete.
Rhaegar did not spread the method of the black dragon stone.
This kind of blood witchcraft can be compared to a strategic weapon. The people in the prince's palace are many-eyed and easy to be stolen.
Then, the letter contained some information about Dorne.
Dorne is located in a hot desert area, suffering from water shortage and drought all year round.
A large group of refugees gathered more and more, entrenched themselves near the Vulture Mountains, eyeing the Prince's Pass.
The meaning of Tyran's letter is that the Dornish rebels are likely to attack the Prince's Pass to plunder the land of the Reach.
Rhaegar frowned slightly and took a big bite of sausage.
Since the end of the last Stepstone Islands War.
Oh, no.
The War on the Staircase Islands has never stopped. It should be said that it was after the last attack on the city-state of the Three Women Kingdom.
The castle of the Three Women Kingdom suffered a devastating blow, and the hatred for the Targaryen dynasty reached a peak.
Even though the apparent war has come to an end, small conflicts continue.
Pirates often attacked the garrison on the Stepstone Islands, hiding in the Narrow Sea and plundering the Kingdom's supply ships to the Stepstone Islands.
The city-states of the Three Women's Kingdom united with the entire Free Trade City-state to suppress commerce in Westeros.
The prices of various products that were originally reasonably priced have skyrocketed.
Increased past taxes on Westerosi merchants, withholding money earned.
I heard that not long ago, Prince Keoran of Dorne married the widowed daughter of the Sea King of Braavos, and the two parties reached an alliance.
In particular, it can be seen that Ke Oran Martell is still planning a war.
It has been silent for three years, and the hidden turmoil continues.
"Three Women's Country...Free Trade City..."
Rhaegar stared at the letter and murmured to himself.
He remembered the promise he had made to Rhaenyra.
He also always paid attention to his father's obsession with enfeoffment.
Perhaps, we can start from the continent of Essos.
That land originally had a share of ownership rights from the Targaryen family.
After coming back to his senses, Rhaegar shook his head to get rid of the thoughts in his mind.
not the right time yet.
The current Targaryen is not stable enough, and its strength is not at its peak.
Daemon's Corakxiu was still disabled, and Rhaenyra's Syrax was not fit for the battlefield.
The only dragon masters the royal family can mobilize are Rhaegar himself and Aegon.
Aegon is a completely bad boy, and the Yang Yan he controls has just left sub-adulthood, and his overall strength is not very high.
If you want to spy on the continent of Essos, you must wait for the other brothers to grow up, and the brothers will work together to control the dragon and go on an expedition.
Aemond is 10 years old and has yet to ride a dragon.
Perhaps consider heading to Dragonstone and trying to tame the three ownerless dragons on the island.
Daeron had just celebrated his seventh birthday, and the Tesarian who was close to him was just over the size of a horse, and one person and one dragon had not yet officially flown.
Within ten years, there is no hope for these two younger brothers.
Besides, Alisson and Otto are also troublesome.
While he was away from King's Landing, the Hightowers and his daughter were also busy trying to win over some marginalized nobles.
I don’t know if he is coveting the throne or is still worried about the enfeoffment.
"The undercurrent is surging, and no one gives me any peace of mind."
After taking the last bite of sausage, Rhaegar opened the letter and read the last message.
[Duke Bomond Baratheon of Storm's End is seriously ill and dying, and the maester has been diagnosed with the disease not long ago...]
Suddenly, Rhaegar's spirit perked up and his expression became serious.
Duke Beaumonde is not a mediocre and incompetent parallel import from the Riverlands like Old Tully.
He was a famous figure during the period of his great-grandfather Jaehaerys I.
In the most famous Battle of Shipbreaker Bay, Duke Beaumonde led the Stormlands army to great effect.
The Duke of Beaumond himself was also a man of great magnanimity and wisdom.
Although he supports his niece Princess Rhaenys, he will not disobey the royal family's orders.
This is a respectable old man.
If Bomond dies, his only heir will be his eldest son, Boros Baratheon, a fool who loves success.
Bolos, unlike his father, had a very unfavorable view of the royal family.
During the Stone Step Islands War, he had been drinking, causing trouble, and doing various tricks.
Moreover, he is not close to the royal family or Rhaenys, so the uncertainty is very high.
After reading the content, Rega crumbled the letter and looked a little gloomy.
The Stormlands are a very important realm for the Targaryen dynasty.
Dominate Dorne in the south, guarding against attacks from the Narrow Sea.
If there is any difficulty in King's Landing, Stormland will be able to provide support as soon as possible through the King's Road.
The passing of the Duke of Beaumonde will be a major blow to the royal family.
After pondering for a moment, Rhaegar stood up and walked towards the collapse, saying dissatisfiedly: "Old Tully, Elmon defeated his two uncles, it is time to make a decision on the successor."
If he hadn't discovered that old Tully was pretending to be ill, he might have stayed in the dark and helped the old thing.
But he obviously has no such interest.
Tell Elmon directly that there should be a fight, and resolve the mess quickly.
Hearing this, Elmon looked at Old Tully with burning eyes, looking forward to the answer he wanted to hear.
Old Tully looked around, his eyes flickering, and said: "It's not good yet. Elmon did a good job, but it doesn't meet my wishes."
In his imagination, Almon should have taken the opportunity to rise up when his two uncles got into trouble and nip the danger in the bud.
But he didn't, just sat there and waited for death.
If it hadn't been for Rhaegar's reminder, the two uncles would still be allowed to stir up trouble.
This is obviously not in line with the character that a superior person should have.
"Grandpa, what conditions meet your requirements?" Elmon asked directly without being timid.
One night's change gave him inexplicable courage.
Old Tully thought for a while and said: "The prince told me about the tournament. You and your two uncles will participate. Whoever ranks higher will be elected as the heir."
"Competition of force?" Almon asked in surprise.
"No! You can choose the knights to represent you in the battle. I only look at the results." Old Tully shook his head.
The three heirs are not cruel or determined, and their abilities are mediocre.
If Almon had been ruthless and killed the two uncles last night, it would not have added to the test.
But the two Tullys were also the children of old Tully, so they couldn't say anything.
In this case, let's compare the methods to win people's hearts.
Let's see who can secure the position of Lord of Riverrun better.
Without even thinking about it, Elmon agreed: "Okay, I will definitely participate."
After last night, his prestige in Riverrun has surpassed that of his two uncles, and winning is not difficult.
Dong Dong...
There was a knock on the door, and an sworn knight said: "Your Majesty, two monks from the Church of the Seven Gods requested to see Master Elmon."
The Oath Knight guards the door and naturally knows the true situation of Old Tully.
Old Tully frowned when he heard this and said rudely: "A monk is nothing, you still want my grandson to see you in person?"
He knew how the two monks behaved at Riverrun.
Greedy for money and lust, he tempted his second son to assassinate his youngest son.
In the name of the Seven Gods, he does scandalous things that are worse than villains.
